Heading Overseas? Time to Think About Your Credit Card

Heading Overseas? Time to Think About Your Credit Card

If you are planning on traveling abroad any time soon, then getting a new credit card may not be the first thing that you think about, but the first section of this article will tell you why it should be.

Research conducted by Moneysupermarket.com found that over half of Britain’s credit card users (58%) chose their credit cards due to the incentives offered by their respective providers. With this in mind, if you are planning a trip overseas any time soon then an overseas credit card could be the perfect companion for you.

Many people when traveling abroad don’t consider charges they will be issued when using their credit cards, but you should. Using your cards abroad without realising can result in a nasty shock when your return home. However, using an overseas credit card that incurs no nasty charges means you can feel safe and secure that there will be no long list of fees when you return from your journey.

Specialist overseas credit cards don’t carry the fees that normal credit cards do; foreign transaction fees are often at 0%, meaning you can use your card with no charge anywhere in the world. Also, when overseas, balance transfers and cash withdrawals can also incur massive charges, sometimes as high as 3%; overseas cards again don’t have these charges making them a much better option for use abroad.

If you are looking to travel on holiday or on a business venture anytime soon then consider an overseas credit card, it may save you a lot of money.

Do you travel a lot? Then use your credit card to reward yourself

Kevin Mountford, head of banking at moneysupermarket.com, said,

With each scheme offering its customers something unique, consumers need to work out what sort of rewards suit their personal circumstances and shop around for the best deal. For a shopaholic this might be a product that offers them money off their next purchase, whereas a jetsetter might be better off with a card that allows them to accrue air miles.

Overseas credit cards are perfect if you venturing on the odd trip abroad, however if you are a frequent jetsetter, an airline credit card may also be to your liking. Airline credit cards are a great way to reward yourself if you are often on the move by building up your air miles.

Build air miles whenever you use your card without even noticing, then when it comes to the time you need to fly away, you may have enough to cover your journey. Per £1 spent in the UK, many airline credit card providers offer 1 or even 1.5 miles when flying with the respected carrier. Other airline credit card providers offer initial incentives to get you started, for example spending £250 on card purchases within 90 days of receiving your card would reward you with 20,000 air miles to use at your leisure.

Research from moneysupermarket.com has found that almost 5m UK adults admit to regularly using their credit card to pay household bills. If this is the same in your case and you are a regular flyer, you could be missing out on thousands of free air miles every year.

5 Comments

When traveling overseas I have never had problems with my credit card or accrued fees for using it outside of my home country. One problem I did have is that my card was not a chip card, so some of the store workers in England didn’t know what to do with it. They eventually figured it out though. It is a good idea to tell your bank in advance that you will be going overseas so that they don’t think that someone has compromised your card.

American readers might want to know that their cards that guarantee them 1% cash back stateside are rarely honored in other countries. Discover.com lists 40 or so countries where the cards are technically accepted, but finding merchants in those countries is a different story.

Never, ever would of thought about this, that being said, I’m glad you posted about it!

Side note, I also highly recommend those who pay for household bills with credit to make sure you are getting the most out of your card. If you are paying for utilities with a CC with no rewards, time to rethink things, and rack up a free trip!

Agreed! Overseas credit cards and airline credit cards are very beneficial to those who actually get a good use out of them. They can offer many rewards and perks if you’re a frequent traveler. However, I’d advise one to really do their research first before they settle for any one card because you’d be surprised how different companies offer different perks- some better others not so much.

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